Humidifying and air washing system



Dec. 8, 1931. R. T. CORNELIUS 1,835,760

HUMIDIFYING AND AIR WASHING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 25, 1930 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Dec. 8, 1931. R. T. CORNELIUS 1,835,750

HUMIDIFYING AND AIR WASHING SYSTEM Filed Sept. 25, 1950 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 JCIL- Dec. 8, 1931 R. T. CORNELIUS HUMIDIFYING AND AIR WASHING SYSTEM 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed Sept. 25, 1930 fzwmwia/ Patented Dec. 8, 1931 PATENT OFFICE RICHARD '1. CORNELIUS, OF MINNEAPOLIS, MINNESOTA HUMIDIFY IN G AN AIR WASHING SYSTEM Application filed September 25, 1930. Serial No. 484,388.

My invention has for its object to provide a highly efficient humidifying and air Washing system and, to this end, it consists of the novel devices and combinations of devices,

hereinafter described and defined in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate the invention, like characters indicate like parts throughout the several 10 iews.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is afragmentary perspective View, with some parts shown in section, illustrating one type of installation of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary detail View, with some parts sectioned on the irregular line of Fig. 1, on'an enlarged scale;

Fig. 3 is a view partly in elevation and partly in section taken on the irregular line of Fig. 1, on an enlarged scale;

Fig. 4 is a view partly in front elevation and partly in vertical section taken on the line 44 of Fig. 3; and

Figs. 5, 6 and 7 are views partly in plan and partly in horizontal section taken on the lines 55, 66, and 7-7 of Fig. 4.

For the purpose of showing the type of installation of the improved humidifying and air washing system there is fragmentarily illustrating, in Fig. 1 of the drawings, a building and of the parts thereof the numeral 8 indicates the basement, 9 the first floor structure, 10 a partition on the first floor, and 11 one of its walls forming in part a room 12.

There is also fragmentarily illustrated in Fig. 1 a heating system for the building and of the parts thereof the numeral 13 indicates a hot water furnace having a smoke pipe 14 comprising a vertical section leading from the furnace 13 and a horizontal section leading to a chimney 15. Mounted in the smoke pipe 14, at the intake end thereof, is a check damper 16.

Referring now in detail to the humidifying and air washing system, as illustrated in the drawings, the numeral 17 indicates the rectangular sheet metal shell of a closed sump 18 suspended in the basement 8 from the 60 ceiling thereof. A body of Water X is held in the sump 18 and replenished through a valve casing 19 from a pipe 20 leading from a city water supply system or from any other suitable source of supply under pressure, not shown. This valve casing 19 is rigidly secured to the bottom of the shell 17, at the center thereof, projects upward into the sump 18 and has, in the'top thereof, a vertical discharge port 21 at the inner end of which is a valve seat 22. The sump 18 or lower portion of the shell 17 also affords a settling chamber, as will hereinafter appear.

A float controlled valve 23 normally closes the port 21 and hence the water supply from the pipe 20 to the sump 18. This valve 23 has a stem 24, which extends through the ports 21 and is secured to the bottom of a hollow annular float 25, at'the axis thereof. Said float 25 normally holds the valve 23 closed and maintains a substantially constant level of the water X in the sump 18. The float 25 is of such size that its own weight will open the valve 23 against the pressure of the water in the pipe 20 and has enough extra buoyancy to exert an added pressure on the valve 23 to close the same in case the pressure of water on the valve 23 fails to perform this function. This simple method of operating the valve 23 without levers or other moving parts between the valve and float makes said valve very sensitive and positive.

Formed in the float 25, at the axis thereof, is an open top water chamber 26, to which water Y is supplied from the body of water X in the sump 18 through a metering hole 27 in the bottom of said chamber and the float 25. This metering hole 27 mointains the body of water Y in the chamber 26 at a substantially constant level, see Figs. 3 and 4.

Various different means may be employed to heat the water in the sump 18 either constantly or intermittently and preferably to a predetermined degree. As illustrated and the preferred method of heating the water in the sump 18 is by means of the waste heat passing through the smoke pipe 14. As an efficient means of utilizing this waste heat, a hot water heating unit 28 is employed and includes a radiator having top and bottom tanks 29 and a core made up of a multiplicity we of laterally spaced vertical tubes 30 connecting the tanks 29 and vertically spaced horizontal fins 31 mounted on said tubes. This heating unit 28 is mounted in a rectangular smoke box 32, which is interposed in the vertical section of the smoke pipe 14 and forms a part thereof. The smoke pipe 14 enters and leaves the smoke box 32 at one side there.

of and the heating unit 28 is at the opposite side of said pipe, forms a vertical partition in the smoke box 32 which divides the same into a direct passageway 33, between the upper and lower members of the vertical section of the smoke pipe 14 and an indirect passageway 34 through the tubes of the radiator.

' A swingable damper 35 is pivoted by means of a hinge rod 36 to the smoke box 32 in the passageway 33 close to the adjacent face of the heating unit 28 midway between the top and bottom of said smoke box. On one end of the hinge rod 36, outside of the smoke box 32, is a latch arm 37 arranged to engage a notched segment 38 on the smoke box 32 and damper may be set in a vertical position againt the adjacent side of the heating unit 28 at one sideof the passageway 33 so that the products of combustion pass directly through said passageway and are not directed through the radiator so that said radiator is only indirectly heated by said products of combustion.

The circulation of water X. from the sump 18 to the heating unit 28, is through a pine 38, the intake'end of which is tapped into the shell 17 near the bottom thereof, and its de livery end extends through the bottom of the smoke box 32 and istapped into the bottom tank 29, at the bottom thereof. Fromthe upper tank 29, the water X is circulated from the heating unit 28 through a pipe 39, which extends through the top of the-smoke box 32 and is tapped into the shell 17, near the opposite side thereof from the pipe 38, just below the level of the water X, see Fig. 4.

In the upper portion of the sump 18 is a motor compartment 40 which extends the full distance from the front to the back of said sump, is spaced from the sides thereof and form, in the to of the sump 18, two moist air return chain ers 41. Mounted in the motor compartment 40 is an electric motor 42, the armature shaft of which extends vertically downward through a relatively large annular air passageway or eye 43, in the bottom of said compartment at the center thereof and in axial alignment with the float 25.

A sirocco fan 34 is secured to the armature shaft of the motor 42 and held suspended thereby just above the level of the water .X in the sump 18. Rigidly secured to the bottom of the motor compartment 40 and surrounding the eye 43, is an annular air deflecting hood 45, which extends downward and outward from said eye and its rim or outer edge is in a horizontal plane just above the bottom of the fan 44.

.Fixed to the bottom of the fan 44 is a water spraying spinner 46, in the form of a disk which extends upward and outward from said fan in alignment with the rim of the hood 45 and is spaced therefrom to leave a narrow annular air discharge passageway 47 therebetween. The hood 45 and spinner 46 form a housing 44 for the fan 44. At the axis of the spinner 46 and formed as a part thereof is an inverted truncated water lifting cone 48, which extends into the water chamber 26 at the axis thereof with its apex submerged in the water Y. The water Y is picked up by the cone 48, delivered to the spinner 46' and due to centrifugal force and the adhesion of said water to the cone 48 and the spinner 46, is carried outward thereon and discharged from the rim of said spinner in a fine spray that forms a horizontal curtain Z which extends from the passageway 47 to the sides of the shell 17.

Extending longitudinally through each air chamber14 is a plurality of upright laterally spaced moisture collecting plates 49 rigidly secured to the sides of the motor chamber 40 by rods and spacers 50. The upper edges of the collecting plates 49 are between the tops of the chambers 41 to permit free circulation of air therebetween and the lower edges of said plates are above the plane of the air passageway 47.

Mounted on the top of the shell 17 and extending upward within the wall 10 is a moist air return duct 51 having on its upper end an elbow 52, which extends outward through the wall 11, near the ceiling of the room 12 and is covered with a grille 53. Within the lower portion of the duct 51 is a cold air intake duct 54 having on its top an elbow 55, which extends through the wall 11 directly below the grille 53 and just above the base board in the room 12 and which elbow is covered by a grille 56. This cold air duct thrown by the spinner 46 against the metallic walls of the shell 17, is eliminated by an endless soft rubber cushion 58 mounted in a holder 59 on said walls. By reference to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be noted that the holder 59 holds the cushion 58 transversely and outwardly bulged with the major portion thereof out of contact with the walls of the shell 17.

The sump 18, as previously stated, is closed and the cover thereof is rigidly secured to the floor structure 9 and the members forniing the motor chamber 40 are rigidly secured to said cover. The body of the shell 17 is rigidly but detachably secured by brackets 60 to the sides of the motor chamber 40 which indirectly secures said body to the cover for the sump 18. By detaching the body of the shell 17 from the brackets 60 and detaching the pipes 20, 38 and 39 the shell may be removed to expose the parts contained therein.

The circuit, for the motor 42, is indicated by the numeral 61 and which circuit is opened and closed by a thermostat 62 on one side of the shell 17 below the level of the water X in the sump 18 and is subject to the temperature of said watery The thermostat 62 may be set to cut-in and cut-out at room temperatures or at any other predetermined temperature.

Operation It may be assumed that the furnace 13 is being constantly heated by. the use of coal or intermittently heated by the use of oil or gas and that the damper 35 is set to by-pass the required amount of the products of combustion entering the smoke pipe 14 through the indirect passageway 34 and radiator of the heating unit 28 to heat the water therein and cause a circulation of the water X in the sump 18. It may also be assumed that the circuit 61, for the motor 42, is broken through the thermostat 62. When the water X, in the sump 18, is heated by the circulation thereof through the heating unit 28, to a degree of temperature at which the thermostat 62 is set to operate and close the motor circuit 61, said tl'rermostat 61 is actuated to cause the motor 42 to start,

As the motor 42 reaches its maximum speed, the lifting cone 48, which is be'ing re-- volved in the water Y at a high rate of speed. picks up a film of water from the body of hot water Y and due to centrifugalforce and the adhesion of the water to the cone 48 travels upward and outward thereon to the spinner 46 and upward and outward on said spinner to the outer edge thereof where said Water is thrown in a fine spray which, as previously stated, forms an annular curtain Z, which extends between the outer edge of the spinner 46 and walls of the shell 17'.

The quality of the spray forming the curtain Z is determined by the rim velocity of the spinner 46 and by the depth to which the cone 48 extends into the bodyof water Y. As the speed of the motor 40 is constant it is only necessary to keep the level of the body of water Y constant to maintain a uniform spray for the spinner 46 and this is accomplished by the float controlled valve 25 the spinner 46, by the motor 42, sucks cold air from the floor of the room 12 down through the grille 50, the duct 54, the motor chamber 40, the eye 43 and into the fan chamber 44' where the same is directed by the converging top and bottom walls of said chamher to the passageway where the same is forced outward through said passageway. The downwardly and inwardly curved outer edge portions of the hood 45 directsthe cold air from the passageway 47 down through the spray curtain Z and into the sump 18 above the body of water X.

From the sump 18 the air is forced by the incoming air from the fan 44 through the spray curtain Z where the same is still further heated and into the moist air chambers 41. The effect of the downward passage of the cold air from the fan 44 in addition to heating the same is to partially break the force of the spray curtain Z and the heavier particles of the spray, that are unefi'ected by the passage of air therethrough, strike a ainst the cushion 58 and are precipitated bac into the body of water X. All dirt, dust and germs washed from the air in passing through the air in passing through the spray curtain Z are precipitated into the settling chamber heretofore referred to and onto the bottom of the sump 18.

The heated airin passing upward through the spray curtain Z absorbsa large amount of moisture and a certain amount thereof is of such a fine divided nature as to be easily carried with the air into thechambers 41. From the chambers 41 the moisture ladened air moves upward in the branch ducts 57, the duct 51, the elbow 52 and into the room 12 through the grille 53. Any spray that is dis charged into the room 12 through the grille 53 will be immediately evaporated.

The collector plates 50 as well as the walls of the chambers 41, the branch duets 57 and the duct 51 over which the spray ladened air passes. removes all excess spray therefrom, and which is precipitated into the body of water X. These large spray collecting surfaces formed by the collector plates 50, the walls of the branch ducts 57and the duct 51 also act as additional Washing and evaporating surfaces for the moisture ladened air.

When there is not sufiicient heat in the v smoke pipe 14 to heat the water in the heating unit 28 and the temperature of the body of water X drops below the predetermined temperature at which the thermostat 62 is set to open the motor circuit 61, said thermostat is actuated and opens said circuit to cause the motor 42 to stop and hence the humidifying and washing of the air.

ficient temperature is built up in the smoke box 32 to heat the water in the heating unit 28 and start the circulation of the body of water X and said body heated to a predetermined temperature, the thermostat 62 is actuated and closes the circuit 61 and causes the motor 42 to start and operate the fan 44 and spinner 46 and again start humidifying and washing of the air.

The above described humidifying and air washing system is entirely automatic, of simple action, has few moving parts, requires no overflow or drain pipe, there is no waste of water or heat and there is enough heat saved from the waste gases in the smoke box 32 to more than pay for the cost of operating the motor.

In general, the amount of water necessary to produce the correct amount of humidity in the air varies according to the amount of heat required to heat the same space. This is due to the fact that the colder atmosphere outside has a lower percentage of moisture in it than the warmer air. The evenness with which the correct percentage of humidity can be obtained depends upon the evenness with which the space is heated. The use of an automatic heating plant such as with an oil burner or a stoker makes it possible to secure a more uniform amount of humidity.

My humidifying and air washing device automatically supplies humidity to the air in a room in proportion to the amount of heat required to heat the room at a predetermined temperature.

l/Vhat I claim is:

1. An air moistening device comprising a sump, means for supplying water to the sump including a valve, a float in the sump for operating the valve said float having a water chamber and a metering hole through which water is supplied to the chamber from the sump, and a motor propelled water spraying spinner having a lifting cone extending into the water in said chamber.

2. The structure defined in claim 1 which further includes means for forcing air through the spray thrown by the spinner.

3. The structure defined in claim 1 which further includes means for forcing air first downward through the spray thrown by the spinner and then upward through said spray.

4. The structure defined in claim 1 which further includes moisture collector plates above the spinner, and means for forcing air through the spray thrown by the spinner and over the collector plates.

5. An air' moistening device comprising a sump, means for supplying water to the sump including a valve having a stem, a float in the sump'for operating the valve directly connected thereto by a stem, said float having a water chamber and a metering hole through which water is supplied to the chamber from the sump, and a motor propelled water spraying spinner having a lifting cone extending into the water in said chamber.

6. An air moistening device comprising a sump, means for supplying water to the sump including a valve casing having a vertical port arranged to discharge into the sump, a float, a valve in the valve casing for opening and closing said port and having a stem loosely extending through said port and secured to the float, said valve having a water chamber and a metering hole through which water is supplied to the chamber from the sump, and a motor propelled water spraying spinner having a lifting cone extending into the water in said chamber.

7. An air moistening device comprising a closed sump having a body of water, means for supplying water to the sump including a valve casing having a vertical discharge port, a valve in the valve casing for opening and closing said port and having a stem extending throughsaid port, a float to which the valve stem is attached, said float having an open water chamber and a metering hole through which water is supplied to the water chamber from the body of water in the sump, a motor compartment in the top of the sum a moist air chamber in the sump on each sidb of the motor compartment, a cold air duct leading to the motor compartment, a moist air duct having branches leading one from each air chamber, an annular hood at the bottom of the motor chamber, an air passageway leading from the motor compartment to the under sides of the hood, a motor in the motor compartment having a shaft extending through the passageway and into the hood, a centrifugal fan mounted on the motor shaft in the hood, and a disk-like water spraying spinner on the bottom of the fan arranged to throw a spray of water horizontally to the sides of the sump, said hood and spinner affording a housing for the fan and spaced at their rims to form an air discharge passageway, said spinner having on its bottom at the axis thereof an inverted water lifting cone extending into the water chamber in the float with its apex submerged in the body of water therein.

8. The structure defined in claim 7 which further includes moisture collecting plates in each of the moist air chambers.

9. The structure defined in claim 7 which further includes means for heating the body of water in the sump.

10. The combination with a water supply and means for heating the same, of an automatic humidifier including a device for spraying the heated water, means for starting and stopping said device including an electric circuit, and a thermostat in said circuit for opening and closing the same and controlled by the temperature of the Water.

11. The combination with a water supply and means for heating the same, of an automatic humidifier including a device for spraying the heated Water, an electric motor for operatingsaid device, and a thermostat in the circuit for said motor for opening and closing the same and controlled by the temperature of the Water.

12. The combination with a Water supply and means for heating the same, of an auto matic humidifier including a spraying device having means for picklng up the Water in proportion to the speed of said device, a-

motor for operating the spraying device, and a thermostat in the circuit for said motor for opening and closing the same and controlled by the temperature of the water.

13. The combination with a heating plant, of a Water heater receiving its heat from the waste heat of the heating plant, an automatic humidifier including a spraying device, an electric motor for operating said device, automatic means for feeding Water to said device, and thermostat in the circuit for the motor for opening and closing the same and controlled by the temperature of the water.

In testimony whereof I aifix my signature.

RICHARD T. CORNELIUS. 

